Sirmaur district
Sirmaur district is the southernmost district of Himachal Pradesh, northern India. It is largely mountainous and rural, with 90% of its population living in villages. Some of its towns include the capital Nahan, Paonta Sahib, Lana palar,
T ...
of
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh (; Sanskrit: ''himācāl prādes;'' "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a States and union territories of India, state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen Indian Himalayan ...
in
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
and it is 672 m above the sea level. It is the largest
lake
A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...
in Himachal Pradesh, with a circumference of about 3214 m. This lake was named after the goddess Renuka and is a designated
Ramsar site
A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O)
*** Permanent 8 ha (P)
*** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts)
**
On the eve of Prabodhini Ekadashi, a five-day Renuka fair begins with the religious observance of the arrival of Renuka's son,
Parashurama
Parashurama (), also referred to as Rama Jamadagnya, Rama Bhargava and Virarama, is the sixth avatar among the Dashavatara of the preserver god Vishnu in Hinduism. Hindu tradition holds him to be the destroyer of the evil on Earth. According t ...
, to the Renuka lake in
Himachal
Himachal Pradesh (; Sanskrit: ''himācāl prādes;'' "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a States and union territories of India, state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen Indian Himalayan ...
, believed to be the goddess' abode. Devotees from all over the country arrive to observe the meeting of the mother and son.
According to the
, the Renuka Tirtha is considered as the birthplace of
Parashurama
Parashurama (), also referred to as Rama Jamadagnya, Rama Bhargava and Virarama, is the sixth avatar among the Dashavatara of the preserver god Vishnu in Hinduism. Hindu tradition holds him to be the destroyer of the evil on Earth. According t ...
, the sixth incarnation of Vishnu.
Maharishi
Maharishi (, ) is a Sanskrit word used for members of the highest order of ancient Indian sages, popularly known in India as "seers", i.e., those who engage in research to understand and experience nature, divinity, and the divine context of exis ...
Jamadagni
Jamadagni () is a sage in Hindu literature. He is regarded in Hindu tradition to be one of the Saptarishi (Seven Vedic sages) in the 7th, and the current age of Manvantara.Avalon, Arthur ( Sir John Woodroffe) (1913, reprint 1972) (tr.) ''Ta ...
and his wife Renuka are regarded to have meditated for long time at a hillock known as Tape Ka Tiba near the Renuka lake. With the blessings of Shiva, Vishnu is believed to have been born as their son.
According to local tradition, after the death of Jamadagni after he refused to part with the divine cow,
Kamadhenu
Kamadhenu (, , ), also known as Surabhi (, or , ), is a divine bovine-goddess described in Hinduism as the mother of all cows. She is a miraculous cow of plenty who provides her owner whatever they desire and is often portrayed as the mother o ...
, Renuka is regarded to have jumped into the lake to take her own life.
The lake is said to have assumed the form of a woman, after which it was called the Renuka lake. When Parashurama arrived at the lake to pray to his mother to return, Renuka is believed to have told him that while she had assumed the lake as her residence, she would make her presence known during the occasion of Prabodhini Ekadashi, when she would meet him and bless her adherents.
One day advance, on
dashami
Dashami () is the Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor ...
, the palanquin of Parashurama is brought to Renuka from the ancient temple in Jamu Koti village in a traditional procession known a ‘Shobha Yatra’, attended by lakhs of devotees.
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh (; Sanskrit: ''himācāl prādes;'' "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a States and union territories of India, state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen Indian Himalayan ...
. The sanctuary is well connected by the network of motorable roads. The total area of the sanctuary is about 4.028 km2. The entire sanctuary consists of Renuka Reserve Forest and has been declared as Abhayaranya. An area of roughly about 3 km2 that lies outside the sanctuary has been declared as a buffer belt.
The sanctuary falls in the biogeographical zone IV and biogeographical province IV as per the classification done by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII). According to forest types classification, the area falls under group 5B/C2, i.e., dry mixed
deciduous
In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...
The lake is threatened by continuously shrinking size. The silt which is being deposited in the lake is causing a worry to the locals and the administration. The main cause of this is the soil being deposited on the banks, with the rain water and landslides in the nearby mountains. Also the waste of construction material is being dumped into the lake for years, which is a big threat to the environment. Administration and Renuka Vikas Smiti are trying their best to protect the lake. Plastic bags are banned in the entire region.
Gallery
File:Renuka Lake, Himachal.jpg, Lotus flowers in Renuka Lake, Himachal Pradesh
File:Renuka Lake , Himachal Pradesh,India.JPG, Renuka Lake, Himachal Pradesh
File:Renuka lake.JPG, Renuka lake, district Sirmaur Himachal Pradesh
File:Renuka ji temple, Himachal Pradesh.JPG, Renuka ji temple, Himachal Pradesh
File:Renuka Lake, Himachal Pradesh.JPG, Renuka Lake, district Sirmaur, Himachal Pradesh
File:Renuka Temple in Renuka Lake.JPG, Renuka Temple, district Sirmaur Himachal Pradesh
File:Pershuram Temple, Himachal Pardesh.JPG, Renuka Temple Himachal Pradesh
File:Pershuram Temple,Renuka Lake,Himachal Pardesh, India.JPG, Renuka Temple, Renuka Lake, Himachal Pradesh
File:Pershuram Talab , Renuka lake.JPG, Pershuram Sarovar, Renuka lake
File:Renuka Lake.jpg, Renuka lake, district Sirmaur Himachal Pradesh
References
See also
*
Bhakra Dam
Bhakra Nangal Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the Satluj River in Bhakra Village in Bilaspur district, Himachal Pradesh in northern India. The dam forms the Gobind Sagar reservoir. Nangal Dam is another dam at Nangal in Punjab downstream o ...